I really don't want to write this since I have no interest in politics. I uphold the long Asian tradition--staying away from politics and governments as much as we can, even to our own disadvantage. However I have to write this to get it off my chest. There's no better time of doing this than … Continue reading Dreary Topic And Dreary Day
Month: November 2020
Thankful Reflections
I think we should all be thankful to others this year. However that's not what I want to talk about here, which is being thankful to ourselves. Many of us don't feel that we are being appreciated enough. Part of the reason is that we don't thank ourselves enough. Worse, some of us even hate … Continue reading Thankful Reflections
To Go Or Not To Go
Please don't ask me whether we should go shopping on black Friday. I won't answer that question. If you have already made up your mind of going or not going, do not plague your friends with your soliciting tone, "what do you think? To go or not to go?" I know a couple who would … Continue reading To Go Or Not To Go
Holiday Evolution
Holiday cooking is a happy hazard, meaning it is never perfect and something a little hazardous is bound to happen to twist the holiday cheers. It is almost an old tired tune to repeat if I say turkey was only cooked once in the past ten years and there are several reasons for it. First … Continue reading Holiday Evolution
Happy And Happier
One thing good about the holiday season is that one feels happy about one's own grumpiness. All the stress of experiencing cheerful things, the boredom of shopping trips, the mental anxiety of trying to say something less like holiday cliches can add up and make anybody grumpy. But we tell ourselves, "it's a holiday. We … Continue reading Happy And Happier
Poem: The Holiday Haul
Morning sunlight pale, shadow of floating cloud chill. A half full parking lot, many full carts of goods, whether you need or need not. One in T-shirt, with cool words printed on, deliberately non-provoking. One in winter boots, not for the feet, but for the beautiful legs. One in jacket, an expensive fading grey color. … Continue reading Poem: The Holiday Haul
Remember Or Not
My friend said his father is getting forgetful, but his father's doctor told them that his cognitive ability is at the top 5% of his age group. The family should be celebrating rather than worrying about his mental state. So I asked how the doctor made the judgement call and my friend said the doctor … Continue reading Remember Or Not
Poem: A Windy Monday
The howling sound, the waving bare branches. Your age old greetings, timely every fall, dreaded every winter. Clouds are pushed here and there, fallen leaves swept away. What's not fixed or tied down flown off. Gone is the past season of fear that virus spread through the air. Holidays are here, relief is near, hopes … Continue reading Poem: A Windy Monday
Poem: In Season
It's an eccentric fruit, in color, shape, structure, pronunciation, and spelling--pomegranate. Suddenly it shows up in stores, some in piles, some in bins, some big--more than one pound each, some small as a tennis ball. The seeds are so red, almost hurting your eyes; eating them are so messy, hands sticky, face splashed red. "But … Continue reading Poem: In Season
The Happy Surprises
I woke up this morning, surprised that I had a good sleep last night. Insomnia gone, headache nonexistent. Sometimes happiness descends from nowhere. I almost felt that I don't deserve it. Have you ever experienced the moment when your friend did or said something that happily surprised you? I have this friend who's so gentle … Continue reading The Happy Surprises
To Admire A Place
The best way to admire a place is from a distance. Once you live there, it's a very different story. I know a couple who admired a house in South Brunswick township for a year when it was being built--that was years ago when many new development were happening there--and as soon as it came … Continue reading To Admire A Place
How To Fight The Winter Blue
I guess this is all caused by the fact that the sun set at 4:40PM and darkness swallows several hours of an afternoon. The crisp autumn air and the mild temperature cannot save the day when daylight shrinks so much. When you have the winter blue, just think about those people who live closer than … Continue reading How To Fight The Winter Blue
Mini Story List
Stories about Armei, Pammy and Lu Trouble With LanguageThree Women On PoliticsThe Manager Of The Bamboo PalaceThe Sales TrainingAfter The Thanksgiving DinnerThe White Haired ManBefore The Storm The Thrill And Peril Of Love The Driving LessonA Non-Greek TragedyChul And JoolThe Battle Of Love Stories From Memory A Cat And A Train RideAn Awkward PortraitMy Cousin's … Continue reading Mini Story List
Mini Story: The Bamboo Palace
The Bamboo Palace is owned by Victor and his wife Mai. Victor is the owner's English nickname, which was chosen when he first arrived in America more than thirty years ago, obviously for its victorious meaning. Since then, people have gradually started to call him Brother Vi due to his rising reputation in the immigrant … Continue reading Mini Story: The Bamboo Palace
Mini Story: Three Women (Part 2)
Click Here For Part 1 "I don't understand why Democrats are so happy? I mean the election is so close even if there's a pandemic and there's a big unemployment number. Four years later, I bet it's going to be Republican again. Probably somebody more extreme." Lu said. Armei and Pammy paused their conversation and … Continue reading Mini Story: Three Women (Part 2)
November Reading Wrap-up 1
"Pangs of Love" by David Wong LouieI suffered a lot while reading "The Barbarians Are Coming", but as soon as I finish it, I take on this book. Do I ever learn? Am I an incorrigible self torturer? The first story "Birthday" is like "The Barbarians Are Coming" (BAC), deja vu all over again. The … Continue reading November Reading Wrap-up 1
When I Look At This
Last night I stared at this picture, but no sleepiness comes. By the way I checked the copyright of this picture, for which the painter Redon died in 1919, more than 100 years ago and I guess we can post the image just as freely as we can with Van Gogh. I've never had a … Continue reading When I Look At This
Mini Story: Three Women (Part 1)
It's Nov. 9, 2020, a Monday. Every Monday afternoon, Lu, Pammy, and Armei met at Armei's little cosmetic store, specializing in Asian cosmetic brands. It's not really Armei's store. She's just a shop assistant. Monday is slow and a perfect time to meet her friends. If the owner of the store happened to come in, … Continue reading Mini Story: Three Women (Part 1)
Today’s Mishaps
Insomnia is overlooked by people. Nobody considers it as a sickness but it is. It has almost no remedy and people who suffer from it have a nightly dread of going to bed. Although I failed with valerian roots, I am thinking of trying chamomile next. Will meditation work? https://www.instagram.com/p/CHb7tGSH8nP/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Thinking about friendships... https://www.instagram.com/p/CHbv-kGngsA I … Continue reading Today’s Mishaps
How Lucky You Are
Shermei, Shermei, You don't know how lucky you are. You've never lived in a flooded house, your only shelter, standing on a little stool to eat your meal. You've never lived through a famine,when a chicken in the black market would cost a month's salary. You've never encountered social turmoils, when bandits came to draft … Continue reading How Lucky You Are
Let Me Sleep
I am so afraid of my insomnia that I started to dream of not sleeping last night. I dreamed of myself walking about in dread of going to bed to lie there without feeling sleepy. My grandma appeared in my dream too telling me that if I am not as headstrong as I have always … Continue reading Let Me Sleep
Blocked And Unblocked
I am completely and probably irreversibly blocked right now after reading a book about blogging, which says what one wants to write is not what others want to read. It sounds really true. Just think about our own life experiences--what we really want to say is often not what other people want to hear. The … Continue reading Blocked And Unblocked
November’s Bad Poems
It's the ugly child of poem that only I can love. Leaves Everywhere https://www.instagram.com/p/CHObA3_Hjut/ I saw her at the Asian grocery store here several times. She must be living nearby. She walked so purposefully into the store as if she's marching towards a battlefield. To battle what? I don't know. A battle with veggies? When … Continue reading November’s Bad Poems
Thoughts At The End Of The Day
Try not to reflect. Whenever I do reflect, I find a lot to regret about. This is why I never like to reflect or meditate or look back. The past is like an endless list of embarrassing moments, unfulfilled desires, flawed decisions. Even if those things I did well, I can see that I could … Continue reading Thoughts At The End Of The Day
Capacity And Incapacity
I haven't calculated anything for ages. Even the monthly budget and expenses are done by the spreadsheet automatically. Suddenly I find myself unable to calculate numbers. Actually very easy numbers. If 87% is reporting in Nevada, Biden has 627,104, Trump has 606,967 votes. What's the total number of Nevada votes and the remaining uncounted votes? … Continue reading Capacity And Incapacity
Comprehend A Little Bit More
Although I didn't watch it on Tuesday night, I spent many hours watching last night, throwing aside other things I need to do. I really don't understand why many swing states can't finish counting their votes while all the non-swing states have no trouble at all to finish the counting on election night--except Alaska. These … Continue reading Comprehend A Little Bit More
Comprehend The Incomprehensible
The electoral college is as as mysterious as American football to me. I can understand neither. It's rules, its operations, its strategies--all mystery. I guess many immigrants are like me because the rest of the world don't have the electoral college system except in those rare places and on rare occasions. The same happens to … Continue reading Comprehend The Incomprehensible
I Am Not Going To Watch Tonight
I used to watch TV for hours and hours on election night. What a crash course on American politics. Pundits, commentators, reporters all come out to analyze the past, the present, the exit polls, the historical similarities and differences with past elections. Reagan and Nixon are mentioned very often, which I don't know why. How … Continue reading I Am Not Going To Watch Tonight
Computer Puns
I only knew cat lovers love to conjure up puns for their purr-fect pets, but I didn't know computers have so many pun-able words too. I only just discover this. One can never underestimate one's ignorance. It's not that I didn't know these words; I just never connected them with puns. They are hiding in … Continue reading Computer Puns
Learning Is Difficult Unlearning Is Impossible
Be persistent and finish what you have started. Due to my observation of this principle, I've completed books I should quit reading after the first page; I've finished programs that I have no use of; I've mastered skills I don't really care about; I've kept relationship with abusive relatives for years and pretended that I … Continue reading Learning Is Difficult Unlearning Is Impossible
Halloween: Lost And Not Found
This happens all the time--lost at home and never to be found. My socks are continuing disappearing after every wash and they don't usually walk away in pairs. One of the pair walks away and what can I do with the remaining one sock? My Good Grips peeler is nowhere to be found yesterday. I … Continue reading Halloween: Lost And Not Found
Haoyan Do 